Keeping in view the present declining trend in overall exports and foreseeing the opportunities of enhancing foreign trade in horticulture sector, exporters have come forward to make a “National Framework” on horticulture produce in coordination with provincial governments, the federal government, regulators and other authorities concerned.
The proposed national frame will be aimed at resolving issues related to the sector, starting from farm to consumers. Governments of Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and other stakeholders will be giving their inputs and support in order to implement the framework. The recommendations of provincial governments, including AJK and GB, would later be submitted to the federal government for approval and implementation.
This was decided in a meeting of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FPCCI) Standing Committee on Fruit and Vegetable Exports, with its chairman Waheed Ahmed in the chair at the Federation House on Thursday.
Babar Bajwa Regional Director of the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI) Central and West Asia, Dr Suhail Ahmed, Dr Umar, Abdul Malik, Aslam Pakhali, Bismillah Khan and others had attended the meeting.
Talking about aims and objectives of the proposed framework, Waheed Ahmed, who is also patron in chief of Pakistan Fruit and Vegetable Exporters, Importers and Merchant Association (PFVA), said that the framework is aimed at giving short, mid and long-term policies for meeting the challenges and opportunities of growth in the horticulture sector. This way, he said, the country will be able to increase production, introduce varieties and value added products while meeting market demands of the standard.
Through the national framework, all provinces and AJK/GB would be given suggestion and guidelines of best agricultural practices to ultimately support the overall exports in the neglected sector. “Once the consultation with the provinces is completed, a national seminar would be organised in which experts, concerned departments and private sectors would finalise proposals for the national agenda,” he said.
Foreign investors would also be invited to invest in the horticulture sector. The foreign experts and researchers of renowned agricultural universities would also present their research papers in the seminar.
Addressing the meeting, Dr Babar Bajwa said that the framework will help in resolving problems faced by exporters, traders and growers throughout the supply chain process. The major issues the stakeholders usually faced are technical and documentary issues at regulators. The representative of PCSIR also stressed on consulting agricultural universities of the country for making the framework as the universities could produce better results with minimum cost.
Chairman PFVA Abdul Malik also announced that his association would extend all possible support for the historic move. The representative from Balochistan Bismillah Khan said that his province could produce quality fruits including; grapes, apple, strawberry and citrus fruits to export the same to Russia, Middle Eastern countries and especially to China, taking advantage from the multibillion-dollar project of CPEC.
